Assam: Ex MLAs Sentenced To Jail For Illegal Entering Kaziranga National Park

GUWAHATI: In a recent development of a 2009 case of illegal activities in Kaziranga National Park, former Assam MLAs namely Kushal Deuri and Jiten Gogoi have been sentenced to jail by the Golaghat Court.

After more than 12 years the court has finally taken its decision and announced the punishment for the accused persons who entered the protected areas illegally to do fishing and threatened the forest officials.

On Saturday 5 March Golaghat's fast track court declared the decision and announced 2 years of imprisonment for the 2 legislators and the other 3 accused people involved in the illicit fishing inside the park.

Apart from the two years of imprisonment the court also imposed a fine of Rupees 5, 000 from each of the accused for entering the Kaziranga National Park with no legal process and for doing fishing there in the year 2009.

Both the legislators of the state along with the other three persons entered into the area of Kaziranga National Park illegally for the purpose of fishing.

They are also accused of threatening the park's official who tried to stop them while going for illicit activity inside the world famous park in Golaghat district of Assam.

The former ULFA militants had allegedly attacked a highly decorated forest official and gave him a death threat as the official objected to their entry an illegal work.

The incident took place on 17 March 2009 when the ex-MLAs along with 3 others allegedly entered the park via the area of Mihimukh located in the Central range of Kaziranga National Park. All the five went into the restricted area of the park for fishing.

The forest officer tried to stop them from entering the region but they threatened to kill him with AK-47 rifles and then destroyed the forest range office located at Kohara.

The range officer deployed at the region during that time had registered an FIR against the two former MLAs in a local police station for such an act. Later, a case was also filed against the accused under Wildlife Protection Act.

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